Phonograph record



D. B. PORTER PHONOGRAPH RECORD.

AP EICAUON FILED FEB 10. I92I.

1 ,425,28 1 ted Aug. 8, 1922.

o UTTET PATENT @FFBQE.

DGNAYJD B. PORTER, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFGRNIA.

PHONOGRAPH RECORD.

Application filed February 10, 1921.

17 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DONALD B. PORTER,

a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Phonograph Records, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in phonograph records.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a phonograph record adapted for playing a plurality of selections or parts of selections without necessitating resetting of the phonograph stylus.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a phonograph record specifically adaptedfor playing an entire main selection, and a choice or representative parts of other selections, as a means of conveying to a listener the character of the selections, and in fact the choice parts or brief excerpts being an inducement to purchase the record or records containing the entire selections from which said excerpts were taken.

. A further object of the invention is the provision of a phonographic record of the above described character, which will play upon a single record excerpts of popular selections as an advertising and purchasing stimulus.

Other objects and advantages will be apof illustration is shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, the letter A designates a phonographic record preferably of the disc type, although the principle of my invention need not be limited to this ty e of record.

he record A is provided with the ordinary central aperture 10, for reoeivin the turntable shank of a phonograph; an

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 8. 1922.

Serial No. 443,882.

is provided with the ordinary title receiving space 11, centrally about the aperture 10. A

'side 12, is provided with a single spirally shaped groove 13, which is formed thereon below the plane of the side.

. The groove 13, is preferably subdivided into zones. A starting zone 14 is provided upon the outside of the spiral groove 13 at its greatest diameter; a main selection zone 15 being provided contiguous with the starting zone 14; an excess playing zone 16, adapted for playing the representative or choice parts of any selection, a stylus guidngor spacing zone 17 adapted for connecting the zones 15 and 16, and further for guiding the phonograph stylus from the zone 15 to zone 16 without any manual interference; and an ending zone 18.

The principle of this invention may also .he utilized for producing records containing a plurality of" complete selections or numbers which, except for the fact that they appear upon a single record, may be considered as independent records. According to the invention, the silent stylus guiding groove, formed between the separate numbers, produces an annular zone upon the record, which may be easily distinguished from the playing zones, by contrast between the playing zones comprising groups of undulatory grooves, and the non-playing.

zones comprlsing groups of non-undulatory grooves. It is, therefore, possible to play any one of the numbers or selectlons, without playing the others, by placing the stylus upon its first groove; or, if desired, the entire record may be played through, in which-case the several numbers or selections will be successively played with an appreciable interval between each two. The separation between the several playing zones is such that each selection is completed in such time-separated relation with the beginning of the next selection, that there is no musical continuity between the several selections. In other words, an intermission period is provided at the end of each selection which will be ample to allow the listener to completely disassociate the several selections. This, of course, would not be true of a record in which a single number was played consisting of several different lyrics played successively, but without any appreciable time interval between them,-a record of this type being in the nature of a uni-selection, as distin uished from the multi-selection record of t e present invention.

It may, however, be necessary to more distinctly contrast the zones 15 and 16, in order to readily distinguish them, and in furtherance of this, the zone 15 may be of a separate and distinct color with respect to thezone 16. A further means of contrasting the zones 15 and 16, would be that of having the zone 17 of a different color than the zones 15 and 16.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that a phonographic record has been provided, primarily adapted for playing a single main selection, and which at the end of said main selection, would continuously guide the stylus of a phonograph over a silent playing zone 17, to play a representative or catchy part of a selection. This would of course, advertise the selection upon the zone 16 and to a great degree stimulate sales of a record having the entire selection from which an excerpt upon the zone 16 is taken.

The undulations 20 upon the zones 15 and 16 of course, readily distinguish the zones 15 and 16, from the uniformly appearing zones 13,17 and 18.

The device, or phonograph record need not be limited to a main selection and a singleexcerpt, but can contain a plurality of excerpts and in fact do without the main selection or zone 15 entirely. This would be desirous when providing a phonograph record A for salesmen and manufacturers as a practical means ofputting before a merchant a plurality of selections in an in-expensive manner. Putting a plurality of excerpts or playing zones 16 upon a single record A would of course materially reduce the number of records which a salesman would have to carry to a dealer, in order to put before him the latest records. The visibly-distinguishable, non-playing zone between the several excerpts or playing zones upon such a record, would permit the salesman to play any single one of the selections that he may desire by merely placing the stylus upon the first groove thereof.

The invention has, primarily, been designed, however, for use in connection with a phonographic record having the main sclection 15 and an excerpt playing zone 16 thereupon. The principle of the invention being the continuous stylus guiding groove 13.

Various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts, may be made to the form of invention herein shown and described, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

ama:

I claim:

1. A phonographic record having a complete selection thereon and a separately recorded excerpt from a second selection recorded upon theinner zone of the record and connected to the complete selection by a stylus-guiding groove.

2. A phonographic record having a continuous spirally-formed groove therein subdivided into a starting zone, separately recorded playing zones, a visible spacing zone comprising a plurality of non-playing grooves, and an ending zone.-

A phonographic record having a spirally formed continuous groove therein subdivided into a main playing zone, an excerpt playing zone, and a silent spacing zone intermediate said main and excerpt playing zones.

4. A phonographic record single, continuous spiral groove subdivided into a plurality of separately recording playing zones of undulatory appearance, and spaced from each other by a silent, stylusguiding zone of uniform appearance comprising a plurality of non-playing grooves easily distinguished from said playing zones.

5. A phonographic record having a playing face thereof provided with a complete selection thereon and an excerpt from a second selection, the latter being so positioned upon said record as to follow the playing of said complete selection.

6. As an article of manufacture, a phonograph record of the disk type having a side thereof provided with a single, continuous spiral groove subdivided into a silent starting zone, a relatively wide playing zone defining a complete selection, a second zone defining an excerpt recorded from a second section, a silent zone between said playing zones, and a silent ending zone following the second playing zone.

As a new article of manufacture, a phonographic record having a plurality of separate playing zones each being a different selection and connected by a continuous silent stylus feeding groove visibly separating the different selections.

8. The method of. recording a phonographic record having a continuous groove subdivided into a plurality of visibly separated playing zones, which consists in recording one playing zone, forming a stylus-guiding connecting zone having a contrasting or visibly different appearance, and then recording a second playing zone in contrast with the connecting zone.

DONALD B. PORTER.

having a 

